Engine-bed support



C. L. ROLOSON.

ENGINE BED SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30. 1919.

1,382,387. Patented June 21,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

uucnfoz 961 h is drmzgg 7 C. L. ROLOSON.

ENGIN E BED SUPPORT. APPLICATION HLED JAN. 30, 1919.

1,382,387. Patented June 21, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@nvewfoz Clagi'on LPoloson.

hi ElHo'LM UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cannon 1.. nonoson, or Burr-n.0, new YORK, assrenoa To GURTISS AnnornmnAND MOTOR CORPORATION, 01 BUFFALO,

YORK.

NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OI 'INEW ENGINE-BED SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 21, 1921.

Application filed January 30, 1919. Serial No. 274,028.

- To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, CLAYTON L. Ronoson, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Bed Supports, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to airplanes and more particularly to an improvedengine bed sup-- port. The en ort comprises referably) a substantiallyV-strut in WhitSi the legs of the V diverge continuouslly upwardly topoints beyond the horizonta plane of the engine bed In one embodiment ofthe invention the V-strut is erected upon the lower,

or one ofthe lower supporting surfaces and is continued to and beyondthe engine bed for connection with another or upper suporting surface toprovide a strut connection between the two. This construction andarrangement is advantageous in that the motor or power lant mav beprojected beyond and between tl ie legs of the V-strut withoutinterference. The continued divergence of the lefgs of the strut beyondthe horizontal plane the engine bed admits of such an arrangement.desired triangular bracing in connection with the V-strut a cross braceis provided and located at a point above the engine bed preferably inthe vicinit of the point of maximum divergence of t e strut legs. Thisbrace not only oifers a cross connection between the legs of the V-strutbut it serves in addition as a line of demarcation between the twotriangular strut sections which together constitute the engine bedsupport or wing post frame. Above the cross brace the legs of thesupport converge sharply and connect with a supporting surfacethereabove. This connection, in the embodiment illustrated lies directlyabove the common connection at the foot or apex of the V. The invention,however, consists in the novel features and combination of parts hereindisclosed, although the invention is more particularly pointed out inthe claims.

Of the drawings:

Fi ure '1 is a side elevation of an aeronautical motor together with itssupport, the support being constructed according to and illustrative ofmy invention;

Fig. 2 is a front end elevation of the support; and

In order howeverto retain the much I legs.

Fi 3 is a rear end elevation of a different t ough related V-strut usedin connection with and forming a part of the engine bed mcunting.

he invention as illustrated comprises an engine bed 10, the beams 11 ofwhich extend in a fore and aft direction and parallel. Said beams orrather theengine bed is located between the supporting surfaces of themachine.

At its forward end the engine bed is supported in its horizontalposition by a substantially V-strut 12. The V-strutis erected upon thefront wing beam 13 of the lower supporting surface or wing. It comprisesupwardly divergent legs 14, the lower pairs of which directly engage andsup ort the en ine bed beams 11 from beneath. ap

joint ttings 15 are used as a means for fastening the strut legs 14 tothe engine bed beams.

That portion of the V-strut 12 beneath the engine bed 10 is preferablyconstructed of wood. Said le S 12 however do not terminate at the engmebed. Instead there is provided a metal V-strut section. 16 having itslegs 17 in line with the legs 14 of the lower or wooden section of theV-strut 12. Said metal V-strut, or rather the legs thereof, divergecontinuousl upwardly to points above the engine bed: the point ofmaximum divergence being nearer the upper spporting surface than thelower supporting surface. The point of maximum divergence is designatedas 18. From said point 18 the legs of the metal strut section convergesharply upwardly as indicated at 19 for connection with said upper wingor supporting surface. The point of connection between the legs 17 ofthe metal section of the -strut with the upper wing lies directly abovethe point of connection of the le 14 of the wooden strut section withthe lower wing (see 2). At or near the maximum point of divergence oftheV-strut legs a cross brace 20 between the legs 17 of the metal strutsection 16 is provided. Its function is to prevent spreading of theV-strut It further serves as a line of demarcation between that portionof the strut or wing divergence upwardly and that'port'ion which isreversely characterized. Both portions,

triangular for In view of the fact that the V-strut legs divergecontinuously to a point above the horizontal plane of the engine bed itis possible to locate the engine or motor 21 between them withoutinterference. This location of the motor between the legs of the V-strutcenters it- (the motor) more nearly over the lower section of theV-strut and admits of the projection of the forward end of the motor outbeyond the transverse vertical p lane of the leading edges of the wings.ere the motor confined to the s ace to the rear of the V-strut 12obvious y a connection of some kind would be required between the motorand the propeller in order that the field of. operation of the lattermight lie in advance of the wings.

. The foregoin description has references more particular y to the useof the support in connection with machines of the tractor type. limited.It may equally as well be used in connection with machines of the pushertype. To so use the invention it is but necessary to construct .thesupport at the -rear end of the engine bed in the manner.

above described allowing the motor to pro- :ject between the strut legsrearwardly beyond the engine bed. V

The support for the rear end of the engine bed-herein illustrated is ofa more or less conventional design. The supporting portion of the strutdesignated as 22 is of the usual V-form while the continuing portion ofthe strut i. 6., that portion above the engine bed is of invertedV-form, the strut sections together constituting a substantially diamondshaped strut or a triangulated wing post frame. The upper or continuingportion of'the rear strut is indicated in the drawings at 23. Said uppersection connects with the rear wing beam 24 of the upper Wing and thelower section with the rear wing beam 25 of the lower wing. It might benoted here also that the upper, section of the forward wing post frameconnects directly with the front wing beam 26 of the upper wing.

Usually an engine bed support of the character disclosed is used inconnection with a twin or multi motored machine, though not necessarily.In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration two enginebed supports are provided. These supports are arranged symmetrically atop posite sides of the fore and aftaxis of the machine, each supportaffording a connection between the superposed supporting surfaces-hencethe designation wing post frames. Only one complete support however isillustrated in the drawings, though it is to be understood that thesupport at the opposite side of the machine is to be of a duplicateconstruction. It is to be understood further that the rear portions Theinvention however is not thus of the engine had support may be inter--changed wlth the forward portions as above explained to accommodate themotor regardless of its location. Or, if desired, the character of wingpost frame illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings may be duplicated atboth the front end and the rear end of the enginebed, though such aconstruction is not necessary unless the engine beds are designed tosupport two separate motors driving respectively a tractorand a pusherpropeller.

The wing post frames and consequently the engine section of the craftmay or may not be braced in the manner indicated although the bracingshown in Figs. 1 and 2 is preferred by reason of the assured clearanceat all points. Said bracing comprises a single cable 27 which extendsback from the forward wing beam 26 of the upper wing directly over themotor'to a point 28'; from which point branch cables 29'divergedownwardly for connection with the rear ends of the two engine bedbeams. There is provided in addition a cable 30 which connects with therear wing beam 24 of the upper wing at one end and with the cables 27and 29 at the point 28 at its opposite end. This cable 30 tends tostrengthen the connection between the engine bed and the upper wing.Beneath the engine bed the wing post frame is braced in a fore and aftdirection by cross arranged cables 31 and 32. The cable 31 interconnectsthe forward end of the engine bed with the rear win beam 25 of the lowerwing while the cable 32 interconnects the rear end of the engine bedwith the forward wing beam 13 of the lower wing. Cable 31 should beextra heavy as it enters into and forms a part of the draft system ofthe machine.

In conclusion it may be noted that the wing post frame or engine bedmounting may be used in connection with machines other than biplanes andthat the ends of the wing post frames may connect with wings other thanthe upper andlower wings of the machine.

While I have described my invention in detail in its present preferredembodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art afterunderstanding m invention, that various changes and modi cations may bemade therein without de arting from the spirit or scope thereof. aim inthe appended claims to cover all such modifications and chan es.

at is claimed is:

1. In an airplane, a wing structure including superposed supportinsurfaces, an engine bed mounted between t e sup orting surfaces, asupport for the engine lied including a V-type strut having its legscontinuously upwardly divergent beyond the horizontal plane of theengine bed, the

V-strut being erected upon one of the supporting surfaces, and a motormounted on the engine bed and extended horizontally between and beyondthe upwardly divergent legs of the strut.

2. In an airplane, a Wing structure in cluding superposed supportingsurfaces, an engine bed mounted between the supporting surfaces, asupport for the engine bed in cluding a V-type strut having its legsarranged to diverge upwardly to a point beyond the horizontal plane ofthe engine bed, the V-strut being erected upon one of the supportingsurfaces and connected with another of the supporting surfaces toprovide a strut. connection between the two, and a motor mounted on theengine bed and extended horizontally between and beyond the upwardlydivergent legs of the strut.

3. In an airplane, the combination with a motor, of a wing structureincluding superposed supporting surfaces, an engme bed mounted betweenthe supporting surfaces, and a support for the engine bed including aV-type strut having its legs continuously divergent beyond thehorizontal plane of the engine bed, and a motor mounted on the enginebed and extended horizontally between and beyond the upwardly divergentlegs of the strut.

4:. In an airplane, the combination with a motor, of a wing structureincluding superposed supporting surfaces, an engine bed mounted betweenthe supporting surfaces, a. V-type strut mounted upon one of thesupporting surfaces to support the engine bed from beneath, the legs ofthe V-strut being continued beyond the horizontal plane of the enginebed substantially in alinement with such portions of the V-strut assupport the engine bed from beneath, and a motor mounted on the enginebed and extended horizontally between and beyond such portions of thelegs of the V-strut as extend above the engine bed.

5. In an airplane, a wing structure including superposed supportinsurfaces, an engine bed mounted between t e supporting surfaces, a motorand a support for the enne bed including a V- ype strut havin its egsextended divergently upwardly om one of the supporting surfaces beneaththe engine bed to points above the Engine and thence extendedconvergently upwardly to one of the supporting surfaces above the enginebed, the divergence of the strut legs upwardly beyond the engine bedbeing sufficiently acute and sufiiclently prolonged to clear theopposite sides of the motor.

6. In an airplane, a wing structure including superposed supportingsurfaces, an engine bed mounted between the supporting surfaces, asupport for the engine bed including a V-type strut having its legscontinuously upwardly divergent beyond the horizontal plane of theengine bed, a motor mounted on the engine bed and extended horizontallybetween and beyond the upwardly divergent legs of the strut, and a crossbrace between the legs of the Vetrut disposed above the motor.

7. In an airplane, the combination with a motor, a wing structureincluding superposed supporting. surfaces, an engine bed mounted betweenthe supporting surfaces, a support for the engine bed including a V-typestrut having its legs'continuously upwardly divergent beyond thehorizontal plane of the engine bed, a, motor mounted on the engine bedand extended horizontally between and-beyond the upwardly divergent legsof the strut, and a cross brace between the le s of the V-strut extendedacross and over t e motor. I

8. In an airplane, the combination of a motor, superposed supportingsurfaces, an engine bed mounted between the supporting surfaces, and acombined wing post frame and support for the engine bed including aV-type strut having its legs continuously upwardly divergent from acommon point on the lower supporting surface to and beyond the enginebed, the legs of the V-strut at points above the motor being in-bent toconverge sharply and connect at a common point with the upper supportingsurface, the point of commencement of the upward con vergence of theV-strut legs being sutfciently removed from the engine bed and fromthemotor to admit of the latterv being disposed between the legs of thestrut wlthout mterference.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my

